The Voice of Tom Terrific Silenced

Lionel Wilson, the voice actor behind the Tom Terrific cartoons featured on the Captain Kangaroo show, died from pneumonia on April 30 in Manhattan. He was 79.

Born Lionel Lazarus Salzer on March 22, 1924, in Brooklyn, N.Y., Wilson began his career on Broadway at the age of 14. From 1957 to 1959, he lent his voice to Tom Terrific, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog and all the other characters in the Terrytoons production that followed the adventures of a shape-shifting superhero dedicated to saving the day from villains like Crabby Appleton.

In addition to his cartoon work, Wilson wrote children’s books and recorded dozens of children’s books on tape and CD. Most recently, he provided the voice of Eustace in Cartoon Network’s Courage the Cowardly Dog. He also completed his memoirs, titled …and Also in the Cast. He is survived by his brother, Herbert Salzer, of Brooklyn.